The gold nugget that was discovered metal detectorist Richard Brock in the Shropshire Hills (Picture: Mullock Jones/SWNS)
A treasure hunter with a faulty metal detector has discovered the largest golden nugget ever found in England.
Richard Brock, 67, was on an expedition in Shropshire Hills when he discovered the nugget worth £30,000.
This is despite the fact he had to resort to using a dodgy old machine which was not even working properly.
But Richard, who has been metal detecting for 35 years, discovered the biggest find of his life and unearthed a 64.8g golden nugget.
Named ‘Hiro’s Nugget’, the metal lump is now set to fetch at least £30,000 at auction.
It’s believed to be the biggest find of its kind on English soil.
Dad-of-four Richard said: ‘I have been detecting since 1989 and decided to join the trip, wo I drove three-and-a-half hours to Shropshire and arrived about an hour late, thinking I’d missed the action.
‘At first I just found a few rusty old tent pegs with this back-up detector which had a fading screen display.
The nugget weighs 64.8g (Picture: Richard Brock/SWNS)
Richard Brock who discovered a gold nugget in the Shropshire Hills (Picture: Richard Brock/SWNS)
‘But after only 20 minutes of scanning the ground I found this nugget buried about five of six inches down in the ground.’
Richard showed his finds to his fellow detectorists, prompting everyone to franticly search the area.
‘I was a perhaps bit too honest and started showing people, and then all of a sudden I had swarms of other detectorists scanning the same area,’ Richard said.
‘I couldn’t believe it – I turned up late, was only there a matter of minutes and this treasure hunting expedition was supposed to last all day.
‘I couldn’t look for anything else as I had the land owner, the organiser of the dig and every other detectorist around me trying to get a look at this nugget.’
It remains a mystery as to why the gold nugget was hiding in the Shopshire Hills, near Much Wenlock.
On arrival found he had difficulty with his detecting kit and had to resort to using an old machine which was not even working properly (Picture: Richard Brock/SWNS)
But parts such as the Wenlock Edge is an ancient landscape which was once under a prehistoric ocean.
There is also large amount of rock which originally came from Wales – a country known to be rich in gold.
Richard’s discovery was made on a site believed to have been an old track or road with railway lines running through, containing stone possibly distributed from Wales.
He said: ‘Upon doing some research, we could only find bigger than this in Wales and Scotland
‘The last one which claimed to be bigger in England was 54 grams but mine is 64.8 grams, so we’re pretty confident its the biggest found on English soil.
A gold nugget was doing in the Shropshire Hills is a mystery (Picture: Mullock Jones/SWNS)
‘I did contact the finds liaison officer and they were happy for me to do with it what I wanted, so I thought I would try selling it at auction.
‘I’m going to split whatever it sells for with the land owner. I found it last May but I’ve only recently learned it could be the biggest – it is quite incredible really.’
Auctioneers Mullock Jones is offering the nugget for sale in a timed auction which began last weekend and runs until April 1.
Ben Jones, of the auctioneers, said: ‘We are expecting considerable interest in this item. It is a rare opportunity to acquire a stunning golden nugget.
‘We are offering it as a single item to on-line bidders from from Friday March 15 and ending at 6pm on 1st April.’
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